Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 8y

Mainz's president Strutz confirms Heidel has received an offer

 

Mainz's president Harald Strutz has confirmed that his club's general manager Christian Heidel has received an offer to move elsewhere, amid reports that Schalke are lining him up to replace their current general manager Horst Heldt next season.

Heidel did not want to discuss the matter at a news conference on Thursday, saying he did not intend to "give any status updates" on an issue which has gained traction in the German media.

It is understood that Schalke are not satisfied with the job Heldt is doing and are keen to replace him when his current contract expires next summer, with Heidel one of the leading candidates to take over.

"Christian Heidel does have an offer," Strutz told SWR on Thursday, without confirming that the Gelsenkirchen club are the ones behind it, but added, "it's been a long time that Schalke have been reportedly keen on him as their [general] manager and I'm in the know about it. It is not the first time that such talks have taken place."

Heidel still has over 18 months to run on his contract with Mainz, however, and Strutz is hopeful he will not follow the example of Thomas Tuchel, who walked away from the club before his contract expired to join Dortmund as manager.

"Christian is a [general] manager who is doing a fantastic job," Strutz continued. "We are going to see how things develop. It's something that we first half to discuss at board level."

Heidel added on Thursday that he is "100 percent certain to fulfill my contract" with Mainz.

"Mainz are extremely important to me and I would never do anything that would damage this club," he stated. "Nothing has changed in the slightest regarding my position here. If anything were to change, then I would never leave this club on bad terms.

"You can all take it for granted that we are very open with each other within the club. We have an open relationship which cannot be any more open than it is on our board."

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